Modern workforce issues addressed at conference next week

May 15, 2008

Contacts:

Kim Gillan, College of Professional Studies and Lifelong Learning, 896-5878Dan Carter, University Relations, 657-2269

MSU Billings co-hosts two-day event in Downtown Billing

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — With the Montana economy rolling along at a steady 4 percent growth rate and continuing
demands on employers to address training and education needs, new strategies need
to be in place for workforce growth and development, according to organizers for the
2008 Governor’s Workforce Conference scheduled for next week in Billings.

Montana State University Billings is assisting the governor’s office on the two-day
event that will address a myriad of issues related to the state’s vibrant and diverse
economy.

The governor’s workforce conference titled “Meeting the Challenge: Montana’s Workforce
on the Move,” will be held Wednesday and Thursday, May 21-22 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
in Downtown Billings. It will feature discussions on dealing with an intergenerational
workforce; helping employers train new workers; developing partnerships between labor
and education; and building Montana’s “green collar” workforce.

The cost is $35 for the two days and includes a Wednesday evening reception. Space
is still available and there is still time to register, organizers said.

Kim Gillan, workforce development coordinator with the MSU Billings College of Professional
Studies and Lifelong Learning, is helping with implementation of the conference. She
said the goal of the event is to help employers and state officials make new connections
that can help keep Montana growing.

“The idea is to help ‘grow’ employees so that they will be of value no matter where
they go to work,” said Gillan.

Unemployment rates in Montana continue to hover around 3.5 percent. Meanwhile, economists
with the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research predict
that growth with continue at about 4 percent a year in the foreseeable future. That
means employers need to find new ways to deal with workforce issues.

One of those is tapping into resources available through the state Office of Labor
and Industry, said Andy Poole, assistant director who will lead a panel discussion
about training new workers at the conference.

“There are many resources out there that many people aren’t aware of,” said Poole.

One of those resource areas, he said, is a pool of dollars that companies can use
to expand into Montana and train new workers. That new worker training program, given
funding of $4 million by the 2007 Legislature, is a tool that Montana can use to attract
new businesses, Poole said.

“It doesn’t matter if it is for one or 20 employees,” he said. “It is open to all
companies that are expanding here,” he said.

Gillan and Poole said that many other resources that are available for businesses
will also be discussed during the conference, including linking Montana’s education
and industry partners and developing the state’s “green collar” workforce.

Those issues and others to be addressed at the conference can be found through registration
can be done through the university’s web site (www.msubillings.edu) and clicking on the “Meeting the Challenge” ad on the home page.